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SECURE SYNOPSIS: 16 MARCH 2019

NOTE: Please remember that following ‘answers’ are NOT ‘model answers’. They are NOT synopsis too if we go by definition of the term. What we are providing is content that both meets demand of the question and at the same time gives you extra points in the form of background information.

Topic: Indian Culture will cover the salient aspects of Art forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times./ Social empowerment.

The question is pertaining to art and culture inherently found in India , it is about the link between such a skill of the women members of the society and opportunity it provides them for their inclusion in the society.

Key demand of the question:

The answer must discuss first some of the important and popular art of embroidery in India. Then move on to discuss how the art can act as a catalyst for women empowerment .

Directive word

Discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive – you have to debate on paper by going through the details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You have to give reasons for both for and against arguments.

Then discuss how and why these art works can play a pivotal role in development of Women.

What should the govt. do to encourage these legacy art forms?

Quote policies that are in place to preserve and encourage such art.

Conclusion –

Reassert the significance of art – Embroidery and its importance for inclusion of women in Indian society.

Introduction:

Indian Arts and Crafts are significant because we integrate culture and customs into these said art and crafts. For instance, music, dance, pottery, wood and metal work, paintings, fabric, to name a few. All of them are spectacular and special in their own ways.

Body:

Popular embroidered arts from India:

Chikankari, UP:

This art form originated from Persia during the time of the Mughals.

Delicate and complicated, chikankari has 36 types of stitches, depending on the region.

Before the actual embroidery work takes place, the cloth goes through block printing whereby designs or motifs are printed.

The motifs and patterns are region and nature influenced. One is mostly to find flower patterns.

Shisha or Mirrorwork, Gujarat and Rajasthan:

This popular craft is originally from Gujarat and Rajasthan.

In this type of embroidery, small pieces of mirrors are sewn together in neat patterns and in-between pretty embroidered designs.

During Navratri, men and women wear these traditional attires, and also on bags and decorative pieces.

Zardosi, UP:

Also from Persia, Zardozi work involves the use of gold and silver threads along with pearls and precious stones.

This embroidery was and is fit for kings made of velvet and rich silk fabrics.

Zardozi lehenga is the number one choice for every Indian bride.

Kashidakari, Jammu and Kashmir:

Also from Persia, Kashidakari is the popular Kashmiri embroidery.

The patterns are nature inspired, mostly flora.

During the harsh Kashmiri winters, the locals depended on this for their livelihood.

One unique feature of this particular embroidered art form is the use of teapot motif.

Most of this work on silk and wool and the colourful chain stitches are unmistakable.

Phulkari, Punjab:

The holy city of Amritsar is home to this beautiful embroidered work of art.

The name makes it clear–it’s embroidered flower motifs on delicate fabrics.

Phulkari art is interesting and unique because the stitching is done on the reverse side of the fabric; what you see on the front of the fabric is actually the design that you get from the stitching on the reverse.

The promotion of such art will facilitate inclusion of women in the socio-economic aspects of India by

Employment generation: The artisan sector directly impacts the rural population as it is the second largest employment generating sector in India where a majority of the artisans are women.

Financial Inclusion: The various art forms help them earn money and be financially included.

Dignity: India being a patriarchal society, women are viewed as second grade citizens. With self-sufficiency through financial independence and the self confidence through earning gives them the dignity and promotes gender equality.

Women rights: Art and creative expression have become an activist tool and alternative form of advocacy for young women. These innovative avenues for making their voices heard have great power in a context where women’s mobility and visibility is often constrained by socio-cultural norms.

Co-operatives and SHGs: The Self help groups and co-operatives are constituted which can help in mobilizing the resources, mass production and marketing the goods to the world.

Preserving the Heritage: Research studies suggest that the number of Indian artisans has been rapidly decreasing, indicating the urgent need to reinvest in India’s artisans to safeguard history and promote culture as an important source of livelihood

But there are following challenges that are being faced by the women:

There is lack of awareness amongst the women.

Finding appropriate market is also one among the toughest challenge for the women.

Production is done manually no machines are involved in it. So it may take time.

Lack of organization supporting the art culture.

There may be some possibility that the interest of the painters gets dwindle.

However these challenges can be overcome by the following measures:

Commercializing the work of art.

By providing skill training and development.

By promoting art at public places.

Digitalization of network can help to reach widely.

Schemes like Hunar Haat, USTAAD, e-MahilaHaat can help promote the artefacts.

Conclusion:

By taking benefit of all the government schemes and by education and awareness women can get empowered and can earn their own livelihood. But some amount of advocacy is needed by the intermediaries to make the women empower even through art culture.

Case Study: One of the live examples of empowerment of women through art is the beautification of Madhubani station. Madhubani station was known as one of the dirtiest stations in India so for the beautification of the station railway came up with the idea of beautification with the Madhubani painting all over the station. For this work, they had started planning and implementation but the implementation process faced the scarcity of manpower, finance, resources, etc.

Female labour force participation is one of the key drivers of growth and development, but however in recent times the FLFP has declined despite growth in other indicators such as high GDP, employment rate etc. Thus it becomes imperative for us to prepare such a topic for GS paper I.

Key demands of the question:

The question must analyse the factors supporting the decline of the already low female labour force participation rate in India, particularly in a period of its rapid economic growth.

Directive word

Discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive – you have to debate on paper by going through the details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You have to give reasons for both for and against arguments.

A good start can be made through some fact highlighting the importance of Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) among females in India.

Body

The body of the answer address the following dimensions:

Reasons behind the low level of female LFPR(the structural factors), in comparison with other countries.

Nature and Trends of female employment in India.

What’s the main concern?

What needs to be done to improve the conditions?

Conclusion

Conclude – unlocking the potential of women definitely requires an increase and shift in the composition of overall employment opportunities as well as questioning of societal strictures. As the country commends itself on world-leading economic growth and aspires towards trillion economy, it becomes necessary to take women along to make this goal a reality.

Introduction:

India’s female labour force participation is among the lowest in the world. The Economic Survey 2017-18 revealed that women comprise only 24% of the Indian workforce. In fact, as India grows economically, the number of women in workplaces is declining steadily, despite enrolment of girls in higher education courses is growing steadily to 46% in 2014 from 39% in 2007.

Body:

More than half of the women who would like a job, particularly those in rural areas, say they do not have the skills required for the work they want to do — for example, leatherwork or textile manufacturing. Further, the opportunities that exist need to be more unbiased.

Status of Women in India’s workforce:

Female labour force participation is a driver of growth and therefore, participation rates indicate the potential for a country to grow more rapidly.

However, the relationship between women engagement in the labour market and broader development outcomes is complex.

The share of women in India’s workforce has fallen dramatically from about 35% to 25%, since 2004.

According to the World Economic Forum’s “Global Gender Gap Report 2018”, India is ranked at 108th position out of 149 countries.

It is much sharper, when one looks at the age group of 15 to 24. As per ILO, India’s female Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) fell from 35.8% in 1994 to merely 20.2% in 2012. It has fallen for other age groups as well.

It declined over time from 36% women being employed in 2005-06 to 24% of women being employed in 2015-16.

Reasons for Declining Participation of Women in Employment:

The reasons are a mix of economic, social and cultural factors.

Maternity: Many women who join the workforce are unable to re-join after having a child.

The landmark legislation Maternity Benefit Act, 2017, which entitles a woman to 26 weeks of paid maternity leave, is becoming a big hurdle as start-ups and SMEs have become reluctant to hire them.

The increased cost for companies and this may discourage them from hiring women.

The share of women workers in the agriculture sector dropped from 42% in 2004 -05 to 35.5% in 2011-12. This decrease in FLPR in agriculture can be attributed to increased adoption of technology in agriculture.

The gender pay gap was 34 per cent in India, that is, women get 34 per cent less compared to men for performing the same job with same qualifications.

In the organised sector, women professionals even in the highest ranks of labour (legislators, senior officials, and managers) are also paid less compared to their male counterparts. However, these women constitute only one per cent of the total female work force and the gap is lowest as they are aware of their rights.

Concerns about safety and Harassment at work site, both explicit and implicit.

According to NSSO, urban males accounted for 16% of India’s population, but held 77% of all jobs in computer-related activities in 2011-12. This shows, how gender has become a discriminatory factor for certain white-collared jobs.

Higher Education levels of women also allow them to pursue leisure and other non-work activities, all of which reduce female labour force participation.

Insufficient availability of the type of jobs that women say they would like to do, such as regular part-time jobs that provide steady income and allow women to reconcile household duties with work.

According to the reports, about 74 per cent in rural areas and about 70 per cent in urban areas preferred ‘part time’ work on a regular basis while 21 per cent in rural areas and 25 per cent in urban areas wanted regular ‘full-time’ work.

Marriage is a career stopper for the majority of Indian women and this cultural abhorrence towards women working is a not-so-subtle way of ensuring that the escape routes out of a marriage are minimised, if not entirely closed

Social norms about household work are against women’s mobility and participation in paid work. Childbirth and taking care of elderly parents or in-laws account for the subsequent points where women drop off the employment pipeline.

The cultural baggage about women working outside the home is so strong that in most traditional Indian families, quitting work is a necessary precondition to the wedding itself.

When increases in family incomes are there, due to the cultural factors, women leave the work to take care of the family and avoid the stigma of working outside.

Way forward:

Non-farm job creation for women: there is a need to generate education-based jobs in rural areas in the industrial and services sectors

The state governments should make policies for the participation of rural women in permanent salaried jobs.

The governments should also generate awareness to espouse a positive attitude towards women among the public since it is one of the most important impediments in women’s participation in economic activities.

Local bodies, with aid from state governments, should open more crèches in towns and cities so that women with children can step out and work. The crèches will open employment opportunities for women.

Supply side reforms to improve infrastructure and address other constraints to job creation could enable more women to enter the labour force.

Higher social spending, including in education, can lead to higher female labour force participation by boosting female stocks of human capital.

Skilling the women:

Initiatives such as Skill India, Make in India, and new gender-based quotasfrom corporate boards to the police force can spur a positive change. But we need to invest in skill training and job support.

The private sector could also take active part in training women entrepreneurs. For example: Unilever’s Shakti program, which has trained more than 70,000 rural women in India as micro-entrepreneurs to sell personal-care products as a way of making its brands available in rural India

Equal pay: The principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value that is protected by Indian law must be put to actual practice. Improved wage-transparency and gender neutral job evaluation is required to achieve this end.

Assuring safe access to work: It is important to improve existing transport and communication networks and provide safe accommodation for women who travel to or has migrated for work.

A useful and easily implementable idea would be to give income tax benefits to women. It would be a bold and effective step to increasing India’s female workforce participation.

For political empowerment of women, their representation in Parliament and in decision making roles in public sphere is one of the key indicators of empowerment.

Gig Economy provides women flexible work options to pursue their career while not missing important milestones in their family lives.

Drawing more women into the labour force, supplemented by structural reforms that could help create more jobs would be a source of future growth for India. Only then would India be able to reap the benefits of “demographic dividend” from its large and youthful labour force.

Conclusion:

With more than 75% women not contributing to the economy, the nation is not only losing on the economic part but also the development of 50% of our population. The numeric consequences of reducing obstacles to women’s full economic participation far exceed the demographic advantages of having a larger pool of young workers. It is thus high time to talk of the gender dividend along with the demographic dividend.

The maximum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) for juveniles was set at 16 years recently, and the Juvenile Justice (Amendment) Bill made juveniles between ages 16 and 18 years who are charged with heinous offences to be tried as adults. Since then a deeper appreciation of children’s rights and understanding of their unique capabilities and experiences has been in question.

demand of the question:

This question seeks to examine the implications of the developments for understanding of age of criminal responsibility of juvenile, and expects one to provide for a comparison and contrast between the Indian scenario and the world.

Directive word:

Critically review – When asked to review, you have to examine the structure or nature of the topic by separating it into component parts and present them as a whole in a summary. When ‘critically’ is suffixed or prefixed to a directive, one needs to look at the good and bad of the topic and give a fair judgement.

Start by suggesting that many reports have revealed that a significant proportion of juveniles who commit crimes in India come from economically and socially deprived backgrounds.

Body

Discuss the following in detail:

Trace the historical evolution of laws pertaining to Juveniles in India.

Discuss the recent cases such as – Delhi rape case, post which strong changes came into the Juvenile Justice system.

Compare the conditions , legislations in India with other countries, take your stand as to whether you agree or disagree.

Conclusion

conclude with significance of robust Juvenile justice system in place to ensure the future of the youth and children in the country.

Introduction:

The involvement and apparent brutality of the juvenile in the 16th December, 2012 gang-rape case sparked a debate on the minimum age requirement for instituting a criminal proceeding against an adult. In the wake of this debate the Women and Children’s Development Minister, introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha that was passed in December 2015.

Body:

The Amendment to juvenile Justice Act meant that children between the ages of sixteen and eighteen involved in heinous crimes to be tried as adults and receive the maximum punishment. While the proponents of the reduction in the age of majority emphasise on the need to try those accused of adult crimes as adults, the anti-amendment groups feel that the commission of crimes by juveniles is grounded in their compelling socio-economic conditions.

Traditional Understanding of Juvenile Justice:

Firstly, the notion of parens patriae or “parent of the nation” refers to the power of public policy of the State to protect and rehabilitate any minor. This is corroborated by the welfare function discharged by the State that upholds the notion that no child can survive without requisite care, and in exceptional circumstances imposes the duty upon the State to provide this care.

Secondly there exists an assumption that a child does not have the mental ability for the requisite mens rea to commit a crime.

Contemporary Debates in Society:

Proponents claim that a harsher punishment will deter juveniles recruited by criminal gangs that exploit legal loopholes to their advantage by ensuring that the juvenile offender escapes criminal liability.

One needs to view the punitive provisions in light of the fundamental object of the Juvenile Justice Act i.e. to choose reformation over punishment, with the aim of reintegrating the juvenile into society.

Crimes such as rape by minors is not caused due to an inherent evil but due to the social environment where boys are taught to ill-treat women.

The United Nation’s Beijing Standard Rules ask States to treat all persons below the age of eighteen as children, and prohibits treating any ‘child’ as an adult in domestic criminal law jurisdictions.

In the United States, twenty state Supreme Courts allow juveniles to be tried and treated as adults, and be sentenced unto life imprisonment. Until 2005 most of these courts mandated capital punishment for juveniles.

In the United Kingdom a person below the age of seventeen can be tried as an adult if accused of serious offences like sexual assault, child sex offences or sexual activity with a child family member.

However, it is very dangerous to blindly adopt laws without understanding the reasons behind the adoption of these laws in their parent country and exploring the possible contextual differences.

Through the end of the twentieth century until now, USA has had the highest juvenile crime rate in the world with 4,000 out of every 100,000 persons below the age of eighteen having been charged with crime. This was seen as a resultant of the economic and psychological conditions of people, attributable to racial segregation and injustice.

Conclusion:

As traditionally understood, juvenile justice aims at providing an alternative system of “justicing” for juveniles in the investigation, pre-trial custody, trial and sentencing stages. Hence the amendment to the Act, that lowered the age of majority for heinous crimes, defied the basic fundamentals of this Act that aims at reformation rather than penalisation.

It is necessary to keep faith in the processes of reform, through counselling and sensitisation, especially in case of juveniles. The State should instead improve juvenile homes and correctional facilities by improving infrastructure, funding research and employing qualified professional services in the field of behavioural correction. There is a growing need to improve the economic conditions that coerce juveniles to commit crimes, especially in areas of high crime rate.

Topic : Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

The Festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship was recently held at Grambharti near Gandhinagar in Gujarat. FINE is an initiative being systematized by Rashtrapati Bhavan in association with the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India and the National Innovation Foundation-India. The question thus becomes relevant from the point of paper – I.

Key demand of the question:

The answer must bring out the significance of the festival and the key challenges faced by entrepreneurs in the country and measures to address them.

Directive word:

Discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive – you have to debate on paper by going through the details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You have to give reasons for both for and against arguments.

Begin with the highlights of the Festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship(FINE).

Body:

Discuss at a broader level, the importance of such events to encourage innovation in the country. How FINE will provide for a platform for innovators for building linkages with potential stakeholders to develop their ideas into implementable projects for the larger social good. It will provide a window to showcase creative and innovative solutions for social development through innovation emerging from grassroots, student ideas and other technologies.

Conclusion:

Conclude with optimism, India is at a turning point of innovation and such events encourage the spirit on innovation among the youth.

Introduction:

The Festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship 2019 (FINE) is an initiative being organised by Rashtrapati Bhavan in association with the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India and the National Innovation Foundation-India. FINE 2019 festival is a celebration of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Body:

Implications of FINE:

It will recognise, respect, showcase, reward innovations and to foster a supportive ecosystem for innovators.

FINE will provide a platform for innovators for building linkages with potential stakeholders to develop their ideas into implementable projects for the larger social good.

It will provide a window to showcase creative and innovative solutions for social development through innovation emerging from grassroots, student ideas and other technologies.

It will help promote grassroots level innovation can provide the solution to diverse needs of the country.

It will provide us the best possibility of ensuring that every young Indian will have an opportunity to realise his or her true potential

Key challenges faced by the entrepreneurs:

Funding:

The funding scenario is still in nascent stage in India.

They can think of getting seed funding and venture funding on their ideas, but the process of getting funding from these sources is not easy as it looks.

Policies :

Government is the single largest enabler for the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Government’s role in ease of doing business and helping companies start is vital to ensuring success.

Bureaucratic inefficiencies:

Firstly, there are a large number of procedures to be followed and clearances to be obtained to start and operate a business.

Secondly, each of these procedures can take an inordinately large amount of time.

Taxes like Angel tax that falls under corruption and bureaucratic inefficiencies as it takes the focus of entrepreneurs away from building a product or service to responding to tax notices and filing appeals.

Difficult exit processes pile up the investments done leading to Non-Performing Assets.

Corruption:

While under no circumstances, corruption can be justified, it is a bitter truth that it is rampant in many government departments.

Even private sector is not spared by bribes, unwarranted objections.

Corruption has also spawned a business of ‘consultants’ whose only activity is to mediate between the corrupt officials and those seeking favours from them.

Labour:

Lack of manufacturing capability in India has been attributed to red tapism and corruption, but the low productivity of labour is also a big factor.

Stringent labour laws governing lay-off of employees make it very difficult to fire workers in case of non-performance or during times of financial distress when it becomes imperative to lay-off workers to maintain the financial viability of the business operations.

Ecosystem Limited to Big Cities:

The startup ecosystem in India is limited to big cities including Bangalore, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune and Chennai etc.

There are very few resources that are actually working toward strengthening the startup ecosystem.

Weak Education System:

Indian education system is very weak especially when it comes to educating about entrepreneurship.

Students hardly get to know about entrepreneurship during their school studies.

Finding a team with right approach could be challenging for entrepreneurs especially when they are looking for people of non-tech skills.

Grey Market and Counterfeit Goods:

The grey market refers to the flow of goods through a distribution channel not authorized or intended by the manufacturer.

Usually, this happens when the price of a product in the domestic market is much higher than in other nearby markets.

Social Capital:

Social capital has been defined as the aggregate of the actual or potential resources that are linked to relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition

Way forward:

‘The Startup India’ is a flagship program intended to reduce the rules and regulations burden from Startups.

In case of taxes, exemptions are given all along easing compliance and reducing regulations. Startup India Hub is a single-point of contact for providing help to new businesses.

A well established infrastructure to support innovations with the assistance of the big companies need to be set up.

Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) including Self-Employment and Talent Utilization (SETU) is Government of India’s endeavour to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.

With its demographics, the size of the economy and a well-functioning capital market, India stands a real chance of projecting itself as a preferred destination for investments.

Laws passed the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Act, IBC will help resolve the disputes quickly

Labour laws should foster an enabling environment so far as employment practices are concerned.

Faster reforms in the power sectors, facilitation of entry and exit of firms, level playing field for small and large firms, improvement in access to finance will lead to improvements in ease of doing business norms.

For attracting new investment, both foreign and domestic, several macroeconomic issues have to be addressed. These include political and economic stability, law and order maintenance, quality physical infrastructure, and buoyancy in financial markets.

Conclusion:

Innovations by themselves are not enough. We must also build an ecosystem for converting innovations into enterprises. This requires support for start-ups and for incubating young innovators. Therefore, India must work towards translating innovative ideas into accessible and affordable products and services for its people. At the end of the day, innovation is all about people, and that’s a resource that India has in abundance.

The question is in the context of the recently launched Climate Vulnerability Index that has been developed as a common framework for assessment of climate change vulnerability in all the states in the Himalayan region. It is an index based on socio-economic factors, demographic and health status, sensitivity of agricultural production, forest-dependent livelihoods and access to information, services and infrastructure.

Key demand of the question

The answer should bring out the significance of the index and vulnerability of Himalayan states and the need for a policy framework to address the challenges.

Directive word

Discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive, you have to debate on paper by going through the details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You have to give reasons for both for and against arguments.

The aims and objectives of the index, its importance for the Himalayan states .

Discus mainly how socio economic factors play a major role in determining the climate vulnerability – provide for case studies of the Himalayan states.

Suggest what changes are required in the policy dimensions to address the current scenario.

Way forward.

Conclusion:

Conclude with importance of such assessment to India.

Introduction:

Researchers at IIT Guwahati, IIT Mandi and IISc Bengaluru have developed a climate change vulnerability map for 12 Himalayan states in India that will help prioritise resource allocation to address these vulnerabilities.

Receding apple lines, changing cropping patterns, more disasters like landslides and floods, drying springs in hills, spread of vector-borne diseases etc — are being felt all over the Himalayan region, which is one of the most sensitive climate zones globally.

Body:

Aims and objectives of the index:

The over-arching aim of the analysis was to give actionable inputs to States.

The exercise is unique because for the first time all the 12 Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) States have used a common framework resulting in the production of comparable state level and within state, district level vulnerability maps.

The maps will enable them to assess which states in IHR are more vulnerable, what has made them vulnerable and how the government might address these vulnerabilities.

Such comparable vulnerability assessments are useful for officials, implementers, decision makers, funding agencies and development experts, to have a common understanding on vulnerability and enable them to plan for adaptation.

The framework can be applied to states in the rest of the country as well, with suitable modifications.

The need for such an exercise is due to the fact that IHR is one of the most sensitive regions to climate change and variability.

Most parts of the region underwent significant long-term changes in frequencies and intensity of extreme temperature and rainfall events over the last decades.

Socio economic factors play a major role in determining the climate vulnerability:

They have developed an index based on socio-economic factors, demographic and health status, sensitivity of agricultural production, forest-dependent livelihoods and access to information, services and infrastructure.

Sikkim is the least vulnerable state with the index being 0.42. Districts within a state face different degrees of vulnerability based on difference in geographic, climatic, socio-economic and demographic conditions.

Assam is highly vulnerable to climate change because of factors like low per capita income, deforestation, large number of marginal farmers, least area under irrigation, lack of alternative sources of income and high rates of poverty.

More than 60% of population in Assam rely on climate sensitive agriculture as a primary source of income. There is high yield variability of food grains, which indicates fluctuations in agro-climatic conditions over time. The population living below the poverty line (BPL) is also greater than national average, and there is lack of access of information.

Major drivers of vulnerability in Mizoram are highest yield variability, no area under crop insurance, largest area under open forests, and largest area under slope >30% as compared to other states.

While vulnerability of J&K is driven by least road density, no area under crop insurance, low area under forests per 1,000 rural households, high percentage of marginal farmers, low percentage area under horticulture crops, low livestock to human ratio and low percentage of women in the overall workforce.

The assessment found low per capita income, low open forest area per 1,000 households and lack of irrigation coverage to be the most important drivers of vulnerability in Himalayan states.

Government Initiatives for Indian Himalayan states

National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE):

It is one of the eight missions under India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change.

State Climate Cells/Centers have been established in 11 out of the 12 Himalayan States for building institutional capacity of Himalayan States in the area of climate change adaptation.

These centers are working on areas of climate vulnerability assessment, raising public awareness and training and capacity building for climate change adaptation planning.

Way forward:

Percentage of area in districts under forests should be increased by Afforestation.

Yield variability of food grain should be made comparable by adopting practices like Organic farming, ZBNF etc.

MGNREGA 2.0 to scale up the old one and reduce the percentage of people below poverty line.

Conclusion:

Climate adaptation is a collaborative effort between appropriate use of technology, vision that produces policies, change at ground level and engagement of local communities. These vulnerability maps will play a crucial role in this effort.

Topic: Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security. Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security; money-laundering and its prevention

The question is in the backdrop of Christchurch shootings of New Zealand that portrayed an act of heinous terrorist attack, manifesting Islamophobia and racist tendencies among people.

Key demand of the question:

The question must critically analyse the rising incidences of hatred in the name of Racism, hate and intolerance towards a community . One must analyse an extremist, right-wing, violent terrorist tendencies growing across the World.

Directive word:

Critically examine – When asked to critically examine, you have to examine methodically the structure or nature of the topic by separating it into component parts and present them as a whole in a summary. When ‘critically’ is suffixed or prefixed to a directive, one needs to look at the good and bad of the topic and give a fair judgement.

Structure of the answer:

Introduction:

Introduce with condemnation of suck attacks and as to how these incidences are a blot on humanity.

Body:

In brief discuss the incidence , explain how the incidence has cast a spotlight on the global scope of white supremacist rhetoric and violence.

Changing language of modern white nationalism and its impact.

Discuss that New Zealand and Australia have had a long history of white supremacist policy and discourse in the past and both of which the countries have yet not fully confronted.

Discuss the need for modern commitment to multiethnic democracy.

What needs to be done to resolve such sentiments and social outrage in the name of white supremacy and islamophobia.

Conclusion:

Conclude as – It is high time that the countries around the globe come together and come up with a strong policy against such unacceptable societal behaviors of intolerance and hatred.

Introduction:

New Zealand was shaken to its core recently when at least 49 people were killed by a gunman in two mosques in Christchurch. The suspect live-streamed the massacre on social media after releasing a white supremacist manifesto that called for removing the “invaders” and “retaking” Europe. The terrorist attack was condemned by people across the world.

Body:

Global scope of white supremacist rhetoric and violence:

Right-wing racist terror, which has largely been on the fringes in the post-War world, is emerging as a major political and security threat, especially in white-majority societies.

In recent years, mosques in Germany and France have been targeted; in Britain an MP was stabbed to death; and in the U.S. a synagogue was attacked, leaving 11 people dead.

In most cases, the attackers were obsessed with immigration and the far-right ideas of Euro-Christian white racial purity, which is fundamentally not different from the ideology of the Nazis.

The language these attackers use resembles that of mainstream anti-immigrant politicians in Western countries, such as Mr. Trump, who wanted to ban Muslims from entering the U.S.; Viktor Orbán, the Prime Minister of Hungary, who wants to defend “Christian Europe”; or Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, known for his hardline views on migrants.

Besides, a number of far-right parties known for their Islamophobic, white nationalist views are either in power in Europe or are on the rise, be it the Freedom Party of Austria, the AfD of Germany or the National Front of France.

While they and their leaders set the broad contours of anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic politics as part of their nationalist narrative, neo-Nazis such as Breivik and the Christchurch shooter are killing common people.

Long history of white supremacist policy in New Zealand and Australia:

The alleged attacker who carried out recent massacre in Christchurch, New Zealand, was acting on a toxic belief system — one that has been long nurtured by opportunists in politics and the media, in Australia and elsewhere.

The long period of economic development enjoyed by Australia and New Zealand since the late Nineteenth century virtually hid the widespread massacres and human rights violations committed by the British settlers and the subsequent local governments against the native peoples.

During the twentieth century, a Maori protest movement developed, criticizing Eurocentrism and working for greater recognition of Maori culture and of the Treaty of Waitangi, first signed in 1840

In 1975, a Waitangi Tribunal was set up to investigate alleged breaches of the Treaty, and it was enabled to investigate historic grievances in 1985.

The country’s Human Rights Commission have asserted that there is strong evidence that structural discrimination of Maori, Pasika and other minorities is a real and ongoing issue.

In this context, Christchurch—the largest city in the South Island, with nearly 400,000 inhabitants—gained prominence in the last 40 years as a hotbed of Pacific,” according to local sociologists.

The 2011 earthquake that killed 185 people from 20 countries in Christchurch was the backdrop of the largest “white nationalist march” in New Zealand’s history one year later, and of the appearance of a more overt militant movement exploiting the globalization of the so-called “alt-right,” and neo-nazi groups such as the Atomwaffen Division.

Way forward:

Societies worldwide should wake up to the growing danger right-wing racist terrorism poses, and not view it as mere isolated, irrational responses to Islamist terror.

It has to be fought politically, by driving a counter-narrative to white supremacism, and by using the security apparatus, through allocation of enough resources to tackle all threats of violence.

There is a need to control the social media from spreading such content of terror and violence. This is possible with the confluence of all stake holders involved.

Gun control laws should be put in and better law and order system to protect the people needs to be taken up.

Refugee and migrant laws should be framed in accordance to the Global Conventions. Increased people-to-people contact can help reduce the differences between people.

Conclusion:

The rising hatred and intolerance among people egged by radicalism has led to many such lone-wolf terror attacks. India is also vulnerable to such ghastly attacks as seen in the recent Pulwama terror attacks. A global effort with all the nations needs to work towards eradicating the menace of terrorism.

Topic: Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and world

The question is in the context of Rawls’ theory of justice. It is about the applied aspects of the theory to the advantaged and disadvantaged of the society.

Key demand of the question:

The answer must analyze the Rawl’s theory of justice in detail – how the conception of justice is an inherent nature of our social as well as practical life. According to him, Justice is related to the social institutions which guide and mould the actions and ideas of social beings.

Directive word:

Elucidate – When you are asked to elucidate, you have to pass a sound judgement about the truth of the given statement in the question or the topic based on evidences. You have to appraise the worth of the statement in question using examples.

Structure of the answer:

Introduction:

Explain briefly background of the recent Balakot incidence.

Body:

Discuss briefly the following aspects – Elucidate upon the idea of “Justice” as propounded by John Rawls. The main theme of Rawls’ theory of justice is it is interpreted as fairness. According to John Rawls fairness denotes obligations. Obligation means an act which a person morally or legally is bound to do. Obligations are different from natural duties.

In the above question it is important to discuss how justice revolves around the disadvantaged, the weak being helped by the advantaged, the strong , powerful , one with resources by forgoing the advantages of thyself.

Such answers must be sufficiently substantiated with examples.

Conclusion:

Signify the importance of the Rawls theory .

Introduction:

John Rawls was an American moral and political philosopher in the liberal tradition. His works have influenced famous thinkers like Amartya sen, Thomas Nagel, Thomas Pogge etc.

Body:

John Rawls theory of Social Justice:

Rawls introduced the theory of”veil of ignorance” while deciding the rules and regulations for society’s functioning.

Veil of ignorance means to imagine ourselves in a condition where we don’t know our position in terms of caste, religion, gender etc and then take decision.

The concept here is that when we don’t know our position then it is more likely that we take rational decision for collective benefit of society.

Basic principles of his theory:

Rawls suggests two basic principles of justice.

Principle of Equal Liberty:

It means each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive basic liberty compatible with a similar liberty for others.

Examples: freedom of thought, speech and expression, universal suffrage, freedom from arbitrary arrest and seizure, the right to hold public office etc.

Difference Principle: There are 2 parts under this

Fair equality of opportunity: It postulates that public policies are reasonably expected to be to everyone’s advantage and public position and offices are open to all.

Difference principle: It justifies only those social and economic inequalities that maximize benefits to the least advantaged citizens.

These principles provide an operating logic for the determination of public interest by the decision- makers.

The contents of the “social primary goods” specified by Rawls are of particular importance, for the fair distribution of them, namely, liberty and opportunity, income and wealth and basis of self-respect in a society will undoubtedly help to achieve the much needed social justice. Example: The recent 10% reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections in education and jobs; reservations for SC/ST etc.

Another important aspect of his theory is that while laying emphasis on the equal distribution of the “social primary goods”, he envisages “an unequal distribution” of the “social primary goods” if such unequal distribution is “to the advantage of the least favoured”. Example: progressive tax system in India, multi-tiered GST system, Philanthropy.

In envisaging such “unequal distribution” of the social primary goods to benefit the “least favoured” in the society

Conclusion:

The concept of Social and Economic Justice is adopted in our Constitution in the form of Directive Principles of State Policy.